NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team will head east on Interstate 74 on Tuesday to take on in-state foe Illinois. The Redbirds will battle the Illini in a midweek game at Illinois Field with first pitch set for 6 PM.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (12-14, 4-2 MVC) at Illinois (14-11, 4-5 B1G)Â
6 PM | B1G+Â |Â STATS
ABOUT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 14-11 in 2025, 4-5 in Big Ten play, and 5-1 at home this season. The Fighting Illini enter the midweek after taking two of three at Michigan State over the weekend.
The Redbirds and Illini have met 94 times before, dating back to 1939, as Illinois leads the series, 59-35.
In last year's meeting, Illinois State fell by a final of 10-6 to Illinois at Illinois Field. Illinois State saw two hits from sophomore Luke Lawrence and a pair of RBIs from sophomore Daniel Pacella in the loss.
RESILIENT REDBIRDS
Illinois State picked up their second MVC series win of the 2025 campaign on March 29, defeating Murray State in a Saturday doubleheader at Duffy Bass Field.
In the nightcap, the Redbirds would spark a late-inning rally to secure a 13-10 win.
In the 8th inning of Saturday's doubleheader, Illinois State scored eight runs off four hits with 12 batters coming to the plate to pull ahead 13-9.
Daniel Pacella knocked in the go-ahead run with a two-RBI single.
On the very next pitch, Judah Morris sent one through the left side to plate a run before Brayden Bakes sent both Pacella and Morris home with a bases-clearing triple.
LEADING THE WAY
As of March 31, here is where Illinois State stands among the Missouri Valley Conference as a team and individually:
TEAM
- .293 batting average; 3rd best in MVC
- 6.69 team ERA; 5th best in MVC
- .972 fielding pct.; 5th best in MVC
INDIVIDUAL
- Daniel Pacella: .398 batting average; 1st in MVC
- Daniel Pacella: .786 slugging pct.; 1st in MVC
- Daniel Pacella: 41 hits; tied for 1st in MVC
- Daniel Pacella/Judah Morris: 9 HRs; tied for 2nd in MVC
BAKES. BAKES. BAKES
Freshman Brayden Bakes recorded a three-homer, six RBI performance in the series finale on the road at Belmont on March 23.
With his blasts, Bakes becomes the first Redbird to hit three home runs in a game since Ryan Cermak did so at Western Illinois in April 2022.
His six RBIs also marked the first time a Redbird has reached that mark since teammate Judah Morris last May versus Belmont.
ILLINOIS STATE TO HOST MVC TOURNAMENT
The 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships will take place from Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois.Â
The eight-team tournament opens on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, and is scheduled to run through Saturday, May 24, 2025.
This is the first time Illinois State will host the MVC Championships since 2019.Â
ON DECK
Following the midweek, ISU hits the road for a weekend series at Valparaiso from Friday-Sunday.
For the latest updates on Illinois State Baseball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com, follow the Redbirds on X (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and like the team on Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
